Method of making a collar



L. B. MONTERO METHOD 0 Jan. 31, 1967 F MAKING A COLLAR 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 13, 1964 INVENTOR. L 3 5. A M/v 75/90 BY 3L mosco wrz THE-anal 6L0) KAPMA/ ATTORNEYS Jan. 31, 1967 1.. B. MONTERO METHOD OF MAKING A COLLAR Filed May 13 19 4 /S Ma/vraeo BY 3 L a m INVENTOR.

Jan. 31, 1967 L. B. MONTERO METHOD OF MAKING A COLLAR 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 13, 1964 ATTORNE Y S A o K T? m mm 5 WM V 10 @M M 5 m a 0% m G 1 United States Patent 3,300,788 METHOD OF MAKING A COLLAR Luis B. Montero, P.0. Box 1230, Lima, Peru Filed May 13, 1964, Ser. No. 367,143 3 Claims. (Cl. 2-143) The present invention relates to shirts.

More particularly, the present invention relates to shirt collars.

It is conventional in the manufacture of shirt collars to stitch together a plurality of plies which thereafter are turned inside out so that the peripheral edges of the plies which extend beyond the line of stitches will be invisible in the interior of the collar between a air of plies thereof. Because collars conventionally have such inwardly turned peripheral edges they are considerably thicker at the peripheral edges than in the region situated inwardly beyond these peripheral edges, with the result that the collars have become easily wrinkled in the region of the collar points. The same is true at the region of the collar band where the collar tends to sag and become wrinkled because of the lesser thickness of the plies themselves as compared to the bent over edge portions thereof. Moreover, it is conventional to use stays with collars,

and it is difficult to avoid showing through of these stays when the collars are ironed. Furthermore, the points of the collars have an unavoidable tendency to curl up and these stays become undesirably set, due to laundering and ironing, at an undesirable curvature.

It is accordingly a primary object of the present invention to provide a shirt collar which will avoid the above drawbacks.

In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide a collar construction which has at. least in the point regions of the collar a substantially uniform thickness so that any tendency of the plies to become wrinkled or'to sag will be reliably avoided.

Also, it is an object of the invention to provide a collar which has stays but which will reliably prevent these stays from showing through and which will also protect the stays so that they will not become damaged during laundering and ironing and so that they will not take on an undesirable set.

Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a soft collar which will be comfortable at the region of the collar band and which will also curve gently around the knot of a tie.

It is furthermore an object of the present invention to provide a collar manufacturing method which enables the above objects to be produced in an inexpensive, efficient manner.

Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a collar which can accomplish all of the above objects while at the same time being capable of manufacture on conventional equipment without any substantial modification and also being capable of mass production at a relatively low cost.

A primary feature of the present invention resides in providing a shirt collar at each of its point regions with an insert which is situated between the liner and the back plies of the collar and which has a thickness approximately equal to the total thickness of the inwardly turned peripheral edges of the plies which are also situated "ice.

between the liner and back plies, so that in this way the insert which has peripheral edges located closely adjacent to the inwardly turned peripheral edges of the plies will provide the collar at least at its point regions with a substantially uniform thickness.

The invention is illustrated by way of an example in the accompanying drawings which form part of the ap plication and in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded, schematic, perspective illustration of the several components which are assembled to form the collar of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary illustnation on an enlarged scale of the back and stay plies of the collar of the invention at the region of a point thereof;

FIG. 3 shows how inserts of the invention are joined to a liner ply of the collar;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal section, partly broken away, of the structure of FIG. 3 taken along the line 44 of FIG. 3 in the direction of the arrows and illustrated at a scale larger than that shown in FIG, 3;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary illustration on an enlarged scale, as compared to FIG. 3, of the assembled plies and insert of the invention at a point region of the collar before the collar is turned inside out;

FIG. 6 is a sectional elevation, on an enlarged scale, as compared to FIG. 5, of the structure of FIG. 5 taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 5 in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary illustration of the collar after it has been turned inside out and as it appears from the back;

FIG. 8 is a transverse section on an enlarged scale of the structure of FIG. 7, taken along theline 8-8 of FIG. 7 in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 9 is a partly broken away illustration of the collar of the invention joined to a collar band and shown in its finished condition as it appears from the back of the collar; and

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of the structure of FIG. 9 at an enlarged scale, as compared to FIG. 9, taken along the line 1tll0 of FIG. 9 in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to FIG, 1, there are shown therein the plies B, C, D, of uniform size and shape, which in the final collar will respectively be the liner ply, the front ply, and the back ply. Also shown in FIG. 1 are a pair of inserts A of the invention above the liner ply- B at the point regions thereof, and beneath the back ply D are apair of stay plies E which are also respectively located at the point regions of the back ply D. The several plies and the inserts A are stacked with respect to each other in the manner indicated in FIG. 1 and are joined together with the orientation with respect to each other which is shown in FIG. 1.

As is illustrated in FIG. 2, at each of the point regions of the back ply D the stay ply E is joined thereto along a pair of parallel lines of stitches D which extend from the tip of the collar point substantially midway between the opposed edges of the collar point, and the parallel lines of stitches D define the lateral limits of a stay pocket between the stay ply E and the back ply D.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the method of the present invention for joining the inserts A to the liner ply B is illustrated therein. As is apparent from the right of FIG.

3, each insert A originally has a configuration which generally corresponds to the configuration of the point region of the liner ply B, and at eachpoint region thereof an insert A is mounted thereon with outer edges of the insert coinciding with outer edges of the liner ply B at its point region. Thus, the right portion of FIG. 3 illustrates the coinciding outer edges of the insert A and the point region of the liner B. This liner ply B is subsequently to be stitched to the remaining plies along a line of stitches B shown in FIG. 5 as extending along and located at a predetermined distance from the peripheral edges B of the superimposed plies. In accordance with the present invention the insert A when initially placed on the liner ply B as shown at the right of FIG. 3 is stitched to the liner ply B with a line of stitches A extending along the coinciding edges of the insert and liner ply but spaced from these coinciding edges by a distance which is at least approximately equal to twice the distance between the peripheral edges B" of the plies and the line of stitches B to be subsequently used for stitching the plies together. Thus, although the scales of FIGS. 3 and 5 are different, in the actual construction the distance between the line of stitches A and the outer coinciding edges of the insert A and the liner ply B is twice the distance between the outer peripheral edges B of the plies and the line of stitches B shown in FIG. 5.

With each insert A stitched to the liner ply B with a line of stitches A of substantially V-shape configuration,

as illustrated in FIG. 3, the peripheral edge portions A of the insert A (shown lined for clarity at the right of FIG. 3), are trimmed therefrom closely adjacent to the line of stitches A, and in this way the construction illustrated at the left of FIG. 3 will be produced, and it will be noted that after having its peripheral edge portions trimmed away along the lines of stitches A the peripheral edge of the liner ply B at its point region extends a substantial distance beyond the insert A.

It is particularly to be noted that each insert A is of hexagonal configuration. Insert A has a short end edge and a long end edge 15, these edges being opposed and parallel with edge 10 centered upon edge 15. Insert A is symmetrical with respect to the perpendicular bisector of edges 10 and 15. Connecting with edge 10, insert A has side edges 11 and 12 respectively for registration with ply B side edge 20 and bottom edge 21. The straight edges 11 and 20 can register substantially exactly. While edge 21 is concave, its radius of curvature is sufficiently great for fairly close registration with edge 12. Insert A has further side edges 13 and 14 connecting with edge 15 and respectively connecting with edges 11 and 12. Edges 13 registers with the almost straight top edge 22 of ply B. The line of symmetry of each insert A thereby passes substantially through the tip of the collar point region and substantially midway between side edge and the end portion of the lower or free collar edge 21.

The advantage of this configuration of insert A is that it may be precut to correspond to the exact shape and size of the collar point. The operator then requires minimal skill to register edge 13 with edge 22, 11 with 20 and 12 with 21, and then to operate the sewing machine to form the stitch lines A, and the knife to sever the insert to final size shown at the left of FIG. 3.

The inserts A are made of a relatively thick but soft and easily bendable fabric which may, for example, be a nonwoven fabric, and the particular thickness of the inserts A is referred to below. The inserts A are stiffer than the material of the plies and maintain the collar point regions of the plies smooth, relatively stiff but still bendable, and resilient.

After the inserts A have been joined in this manner to the point regions of the liner ply B, the liner ply is mounted on the front ply C in alignment therewith and the front ply C is located directly over the back ply D in alignment with the latter. The peripheral edges of plies B, C and D are in registration. The stay ply E has previously been stitched to the back ply D with the parallel lines of stitches D as described above in connection with FIG. 2. The plies, when they have been stacked in this manner are joined together by the line of stitches B which extends along the peripheral edges of the plies, these peripheral edges all coinciding at B, and it is to be noted that the line of stitches B extends substantially midway between the peripheral edges B" and the line of stitches A which joins each insert A to the liner ply B, as illustrated in FIG. 5.

The manner in which the several plies and the insert A are assembled is particularly apparent from FIG. 6, which shows the insert A stitched to the liner ply B, and the arrangement of the plies with the liner ply B, front ply C, back ply D, and stay ply E successively located one below the other and stitched together by the line of stitches B. All of these plies may be made of conventional sheet material used for shirt collar plies and well known in the art.

Referring now to FIG. 7, the collar is illustrated in the condition it takes after it has been turned. Once the several plies and the insert A have been assembled together in the manner shown in FIG. 6, the entire structure is turned inside out with the plies C and D now exposed, and it is the ply C which forms the front ply and the ply D which forms the back ply, as pointed out above. FIG. 7 shows the structure after it has been turned inside out and as it appears when looking toward the back ply D. First, it will be seen that now the stay ply E is situated in the interior of the collar and next to the back ply D while the insert A is situated between the stay ply E and the liner ply B, and, of course, the liner ply B is situated between the insert A and the front ply C. The structure shown in FIG. 7 is, of course, duplicated at the other point region of the collar.

As may be seen particularly from FIG. 8 the result of turning of the collar is that the peripheral edges of the plies are now directed inwardly, and the left portion of FIG. 8 indicates how the inturned peripheral edges B extend inwardly beyond the line of stitches B. The result of turning the collar so that the plies C and D are exposed is that all of the peripheral edges B which are inturned beyond the line of stitches B are situated between the liner ply B and the stay ply E, and of course the insert A is also situated in this space.

According to a particular feature 'of the present invention the thickness of the insert A is approximately equal to the total thickness of all of the plies, so that in this way the shirt collar will have at its point region a substantially uniform thickness, as is particularly apparent from FIG. 8.

Moreover, the result of providing the line of stitches A for each insert A situated at the above-described distance from the peripheral edge of the liner ply B and then stitching the plies together along the line of stitches B situated midway between the peripheral edges B and the line of stitches A is that when the collar is turned the peripheral edges B and the periphery of the insert A will practically butt up against each other. As a result of this feature of the invention the peripheral edges of the inserts will be located directly next to and will extend uniformly along the inturned peripheral edges of the plies, so that in this way there is no gap between the inserts and the inturned peripheral edges of the plies and the collar has at its point regions an uninterrupted substantially uniform thickness resulting not only from these features but also from the fact that the thickness of insert A is substantially equal to the total thickness of the plies B, C, D and E.

Before the collar band Y is joined to the collar, stays S are inserted in the pockets defined between the lines of stitches D and between the stay plies E and the back plies D, as described above, so that the stays S form part of the collar as illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show the collar band Y joined to the collar by conventional means. The two plies 30 and 31 are respectively placed over plies D and C; are stitched to the collar by stitching Y adjacent and parallel to the upper edge of the collar and are then turned to the illustrated condition in which the collar band Y extends above the collar. Further details of collar band Y are omitted as not necessary to an understanding of the invention.

The collar is also conventionally finished by the line of stitches X extending along the periphery of the collar (bottom and side adges) after it has been turned in the manner described above.

It is to be noted that with this construction of invention not only is there substantially no variation in the thickness of the collar at the region of the points thereof, so that wrinkling or sagging of the collar at this region is reliably avoided, but in addition the stays are protected by the soft relatively thick inserts A so that these stays on the one hand will not show through after laundering and ironing and on the other hand are protected against taking a permanent set of undesired curvature. In general the stays are protected against physical damage by the inserts A.

Moreover, the soft and easy bendability of the inserts A enables the point regions of the collar to curve gently and smoothly over the knot of a tie. Also, it has been found that the collar points of the invention will have no tendency to curl upwardly.

Once the collar of the invention is completed it has no removable components, so that all of the parts remain reliably assembled with respect to each other.

Moreover, the collar of the invention can be manufactured with conventional equipment in a rapid inexpensive manner, using mass production techniques, so that the collar of the invention can be manufactured at relatively low cost.

What is claimed is:

1. In a method of manufacturing a shirt collar, the steps of placing on the point region of a liner ply, which is to be subsequently stitched to additional plies with a line of stitching extending along and located at a predetermined distance from the periphery of said liner ply, an insert of the same general configuration as said point region of said liner ply, with peripheral edges of said insert coinciding with peripheral edges of said liner ply, stitching said insert to said liner ply with a line of stitching extending along the said coinciding peripheral edges at a distance therefrom approximately equal to twice said predetermined distance, and then trimming away peripheral portions of said insert along and closely adjacent to the line of stitching between said insert and liner ply.

2. In a method of manufacturing a shirt collar, performing at each end of a liner ply, the steps of placing on a point region of the liner ply, which is to be subsequently stitched to additional plies with a line of stitching extending along the periphery of said liner ply and located at a predetermined distance from said periphery, an insert of the same configuration as said point region with outer edges of said insert coinciding with outer edges of said liner ply at the point region thereof, stitching said insert to said liner ply with a line of stitching extending along said coinciding outer edges and spaced inwardly therefrom by a distance equal approximately to twice said predetermined distance, and then trimming away the periphery of said insert along and closely adjacent to the line of stitches joining said insert to said liner ply.

3. In a method of manufacturing a shirt collar, performing at each end of a liner ply, the steps of placing on a point region of the liner ply, which is to be subsequently stitched to additional plies with a line of stitching extending along and located at a predetermined distance from the periphery of said liner ply, in insert of the same general configuration as said point region of said liner ply with outer edges of said insert coinciding with outer edges of said liner ply, stitching said insert to said liner ply with a line of stitches extending along and spaced from said coinciding edges by a distance approximately equal to twice said predetermined distance, trimming away the periphery of said insert along a line closely adjacent to the stitches joining said insert to said liner ply, and then placing the liner ply, after said steps have been performed at each end thereof, on a front ply with said inserts directed away from said front ply, placing said front ply on a back ply with said front ply situated between back ply and liner ply, and then stitching said liner, front, and back plies to each other with a line of stitches extending along the peripheries of said plies and spaced substantially midway between the outer edges of said plies and the peripheral edges of the trimmed inserts.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,354,205 7/1944 Gleekman 2132 2,769,979 11/1956 Driesbach 2-132 3,090,962 5/1963 Lockwood 2131 X 3,132,347 5/1964 Light 2132 FOREIGN PATENTS 768,642 2/1957 Great Britain.

808,391 2/ 1959 Great Britain.

830,242 3/ 1960 Great Britain.

JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

J. R. BOLER, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A METHOD OF MANUFACTURING A SHIRT COLLAR, THE STEPS OF PLACING ON THE POINT REGION OF A LINER PLY, WHICH IS TO BE SUBSEQUENTLY STITCHED TO ADDITIONAL PLIES WITH A LINE OF STITCHING ECTENDING ALONG AND LOCATED AT PREDETERMINED DISTANCE FROM THE PERIPHERY OF SAID LINER PLY, AN INSERT OF THE SAME GENERAL CONFIGURATION AS SAID POINT REGION OF SAID LINER PLY, WITH PERIPHERAL EDGES OF SAID INSERT COINCIDING WITH PERIPHERAL EDGES OF SAID LINER PLY, STITCHING SAID INSERT TO SAID LINER PLY WITH A LINE OF STITCHING EXTENDING ALONG THE SAID COINCIDING PERIPHERAL EDGES AT A DISTANCE THEREFROM APPROXIMATELY EQUAL TO TWICE SAID PREDETERMINED DISTANCE, AND THEN TRIMMING AWAY PERIPHERAL PORTIONS OF SAID INSERT ALONG AND CLOSELY ADJACENT TO THE LINE OF STITCHING BETWEEN SAID INSERT AND LINER PLY. 